A Legacy of Dignity
What Joe Biden gave America and the world
Dignity and respect. They go together like bread and butter yet are often confused with each other.
Dignity is the inherent worth and value of a person or a position. Dignity is found below the skin, it’s authentic, hard-wired. You exude dignity or you do not. But it’s there, nonetheless.
Respect is when we show deference or esteem for someone or some position or role. Respect, unlike dignity, can be earned or it can be lost depending on one’s actions.
How do these two go together?
Dignity is respect’s foundation. It is the concrete holding up the house. Show someone respect, we are then acknowledging their personal dignity and/or dignity for the position they hold.
When a U.S. presidential candidate mocks the disabled, or denigrates prisoners-of-war or immigrants, or even the current president’s health and family, it’s hard not to lose respect for that candidate. Donald Trump has done all of these (and more) with little consequence and no remorse. Respect is lost, no matter your politics, and in turn, it is then inevitable that dignity is lost. Humanity is scarred when any of us behave this way. Would we tolerate a teacher, a police officer, a friend who acted like this? Of course not. Respect would be lost and dignity for the person and their position would be bloodied.
As President Joe Biden steps aside in the presidential contest, and fulfills the remaining months of his term, we all should be thanking him. Everyone. All of us. Right, Left, and Middle. Forget policies. Forget age. Forget all of it. What Mr. Biden did most importantly in his time at the White House is restore dignity to the office. This is his legacy.
The 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant said that human dignity is in us all. But it’s our choice to show it. The Oxford Academic website clarifies Kant’s thoughts with this: “We must strive to make our individual choices worthy of this moral standing, which elevates us above animals and mere things, by never treating persons as mere means and by honoring and promoting humanity positively.”
No matter partisanship politics or ideology, Donald Trump’s mocking and disrespectful public speech and social media posts throughout his presidency, afterward, and today should have offended us then and should offend all of us now. Trump disrespects our inherent dignity, undermines our democratic ideals of fairness, respect, and self-worth. Biden, on the other hand, has reminded us that dignity is inherent, and is lost only in egotistical, narrow-minded, self-prompting behavior. Through his daily life, Biden has shown us all how to behave in the world. And most certainly, how a U.S. president should behave, rejecting the ugliest of human tendencies.
As a candidate running against Donald Trump in the fall of 2020, Joe Biden promised to “restore dignity for everyone.” It may be debatable four years later if he truly accomplished this “for everyone,” but it is irrefutable that he restored it to the office. And this, if nothing else, will be his enduring legacy, and why all Americans and the world should be grateful.
David W. Berner is the author of several award-winning works of fiction and memoir. His latest book, Daylight Saving Time: The Power of Growing Older will be officially released August 1, 2024.
Perfectly stated!
Yes. Exactly.